Josh kissed me.
Another stroke of seismic energy overtakes me, crawling up the back of my neck and burrowing into the base of my skull. My head tips upward, shifting my gaze. Above me are thousands of bright electric-purple stars, twinkling like glittering pinpricks in an ink-black sky. I follow the glow of the deep red moon, which leads me into the cave, which still appears to be made of grass-colored ice. As I walk inside, the shadows from the spinal columnshaped stalagmites poking out of the ground and shimmering icicles hanging overhead dance around the soft, snowcovered floor, swirling with gorgeous pigments that blend together and form an ethereal yet distorted rainbow effect.
About twenty feet away, I see Josh kneeling in front of the gargantuan ice formation that stretches through the ceiling of the cave. He’s wearing a navy parka, charcoal-gray jeans, and heavy, industrial boots. A backpack is securely fastened on his shoulders. His brow is furrowed as he concentrates, his curious amber eyes focused and clear as he draws something in the dazzling cherry-blossom snow.
From behind a large, gleaming green icicle, I watch him for a bit, each one of his movements so deliberate yet graceful. I’m aware that I was angry with him back home, but I’m having trouble recalling why. Then I hear a little voice in my mind telling me the reason is no longer important.
Trust him.
He’s your friend.
He cares about you.
So I listen and step closer, looking at what Josh is trying to create in the snow—a makeshift sketch of the firewall. But once I recognize it as the looming frozen structure in front of us, I feel a sharp, squeezing twinge near my temples, like my head is being attacked by two sets of pliers. Another voice, not reassuring in the slightest, pops that amazing balloon-like feeling, and all that’s left is a searing rage that almost knocks me to my knees.
The firewall.
Suddenly, I remember.
My father.
Orexis.
The QuTap.
Principle Caldwell’s son.
Avery.
Everything connects in this complex matrix of gut-wrenching images, and I’m so furious I’m actually trembling. My head begins to throb with a relentless pressure behind my eyes. I close them tightly and press my fingers against my temples, but it doesn’t alleviate the pain. “Regan?” I hear Josh call out, his voice questioning, like he’s surprised to see me.
He walks swiftly in my direction, reaching out when I’m close enough to coax into a hug, and I quickly step to the right, dodging him and causing him to stumble. High doses of adrenaline are fueling every one of my nerve endings.
“Stay away from me!” I spit.
Josh doesn’t seem as aggravated as I am, but his posture stiffens until he’s as unmovable as the ice walls surrounding us. “I told you, I can explain.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this story,” I say. “I bet you and Avery came up with a great excuse for using me as a pawn in whatever scheme you two have going.”
“There’s no scheme,” he says.
“So then why the hell did you give her the QuTap?”
“Because it belongs to her. She gave it to me. So we could complete our mission.”
My hands ball into fists. He can’t possibly be that stupid. “What?”
“Her father’s a . . . cybersecurity specialist.” Josh closes his eyes and squints, like he’s trying to open his mind and search for information. After a beat of cold, hard silence, he forces another sentence out. “She has access to the equipment we need to decode the QuTap.”
My fists are turning white with anger. I feel like pummeling him into the snow. A drop of green moisture falls from the ice-covered ceiling, splattering against my pale, clenched knuckles. “So you went behind my back and asked for help from my worst enemy? Were you just playing me the whole time, so you could get information that would screw my father’s old company over?”
“No! That’s not what happened!” Josh shouts. Apparently his feelings of aggression are now matching mine, fire for fire.
“And what about the photos of the warehouse? Did they just magically appear in the journalists’ possession?”
“Look, I had to show those to Avery, too. What she did with them was kind of impulsive, but—”
“Impulsive, huh? Do you have any idea how much trouble she can get Patrick and me in? She despises us!”
Another droplet of melted ice splatters and then another, but I’m so consumed with anger I brush them away without thinking.
“Us? Someone is in a hospital, hooked up to machines because of Elusion, and you’re still worried about Patrick? That’s pretty twisted.” The expression on his face contorts into fury, and all of a sudden I’m reminded that Josh nearly beat a guy to within an inch of his life. I’m not scared that he will physically hurt me here, but it’s another reason to lash out at him.
“Well, what about you?” I scream. “You’re just like him! All you’ve done is lie to me!”
The drops are falling faster now. The temperature feels like it’s risen at least twenty degrees since we’ve started arguing; the snow below our feet is quickly evaporating and creating a thick cloud of blood-colored mist.
“I have never lied to you. Ever.”
“What about that guy you assaulted? Did you just forget to tell me that he almost died? Or what about Nora’s emotional problems? You never said that she might be unstable.”
We’re eye to eye, nose to nose, on the verge of a real brawl.
“Go to hell!” he breathes, right into my face.
I don’t think or feel. I just react. I cock my hand back and then it flies forward in an attempt to slap him. Josh ducks, avoiding the blow. As my hand hits empty air, I lose my balance and stumble toward him, my legs eventually giving way. He catches and steadies me, with one hand on my waist, the other on my shoulder. When our eyes lock, the tension in my muscles unravels almost immediately, and I can feel his body relaxing too.
Slowly, his arms bend and lead me closer to him.
My cheek is lightly pressed against Josh’s chest, and I’m still breathing hard as the anger begins to dissipate. The only thing that defused the nuclear-scale fight was seeing the tenderness in Josh’s eyes. He is not my enemy.
The droplets are heavier now, and falling so fast it seems to be raining.
“What’s happening?” I ask, my breaths shallow and raspy. “I’ve never felt angry in Elusion before.”
Still cradling me in his arms, Josh glances suspiciously at the giant, weeping icicles above.
“The cave is melting,” he says.
We hear a loud rumbling, and the ground beneath us shifts, causing a few of the icicles to come toppling down, separating us. The ice shatters when it collides with the ground, sending a flurry of mud-brown debris in every direction. A piece strikes me in the chin, and it stings like a hornet’s bite.
“Is this what happened at the beach?” Josh asks as another splinter of the frozen cavern crumbles into dark ash right beside us.